“I am an openly, proud gay man.”
And with that statement, Missouri’s defensive end Michael Sam has just made history. Sam has announced to the wold that he is a “proud gay man” who also wants to play in the NFL. He came out to his teammates previously, but amazingly everyone respected his privacy and kept it a secret. However, now that it has been made public, they are sending their support for their teammate! 
Sam explained that when he told his teammates it seemed like they already knew. “Coaches just wanted to know a little about ourselves, our majors, where we’re from, and something that no one knows about you,” he said. “And I used that opportunity just to tell them that I was gay. And their reaction was like, ‘Michael Sam finally told us.’ “
It seems like everyone has supported Sam’s decision to come out. The NFL released a statement, “We admire Michael Sam’s honesty and courage.” It is such a great initial step to see almost everyone embracing Sam’s courageous decision, but for Smith it was not even the hardest thing to overcome in his life. In the rest of his interview with ESPN’s Outside the Lines, he opened up about his childhood,
“I endured so much in my past: seeing my older brother killed from a gunshot wound, not knowing that my oldest sister died when she was a baby and I never got the chance to meet her. My second oldest brother went missing in 1998, and me and my little sister were the last ones to see him … my other two brothers have been in and out of jail since 8th grade, currently both in jail. Telling the world I’m gay is nothing compared to that.”
Coming out publicly is such a courageous act, but it should absolutely have no bearing on where he gets drafted. The facts that should affect where he plays in the NFL are 19 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks in 2013. That is what should define Michael Sam as an NFL player. To say that his decision to be proud of who he is would be a “distraction” while other players have come back from beating women and driving drunk is absurd. I wish the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, Michael Sam, nothing but success in his future. I hope that his courage will give others the strength to come out and be who they really are!
